Steam Bent Shingles

Shingle thatch or American thatch is the technique of using cedar shingles to recreate the texture and look of a reed-thatched roof. The shingles are bent along a curved framing support and roof edges, and laid in undulating, wavy courses. www.customshingles.com

Incredible Steam Bent Shingle Roofs

American thatch home with carrot rake detail. A carrot rake or gable run is where the roof starts with a large diameter at the ridge, and tapers down, sometimes to a point, at the eave. www.customshingles.com

Steam bent shingles rolled under eaves. Carmel Cottage. The roof edges are first framed with rounded edges, and then the shingles are steamed to fit the curve. Image by Linda Hartong. www.imagekind.com

Steam bent wooden shingles laid in a wave pattern and rolled under the large exaggerated eaves. www.customshingles.com

The roof is a two part system: curved framing is placed over a standard decked roof with a heavy base sheet then a framed lattice system is installed over that, allowing the wood shingles to breath. The roof will last three times as long.

Cottage in Białka Tatrzańska, Tatra Mountains, Poland. Although not steam bent, the roofing is unique. www.flickr.com

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Santarella barn in Tyringham, Massachusetts. In 1920, sculptor Sir Henry Hudson Kitson decided to turn the barn on his property into a studio and envisioned creating a rolling, thatched roof similar to the traditional thatched-roofs in his native Britain. He enlisted the help of several local farmers to grow a crop of rye for the thatching, but the crop went bad, and he turned to asphault shingles to create the effect he desired. Each tile was hand-cut to a wave-like shape and then was laid in thick layers of different-colored shingles. The whole project took three workers twelve years to complete.www.santarella.us

Windamere Cottage in Carmel-by-the-Sea. There are still craftsmen in Carmel who do this type of roofing. Linda Hartong Photography. www.flickr.com

Shingle Roof Online Resources

Shingle Roofing Companies

Custom Cedar Solutions
Based in Florida but frequently build roofs in all the US states, Canada and the Caribbean. Have provided and installed hundreds of cottage roofs over the last 35 years. Brochure: issuu.com

13 Comments

I came across this article and thought I’d let you know that there are more of us out there that do this style of roofing. Based in Cleveland but we travel. We will be starting work on a cottage-style roof in Louisville, KY next month. Happy to supply photos.

I’m really interested in building my own home and I have always wanted to have a roof like this. I would appreciate any assistance you can offer as far as written resources and publications on the subject. Please send me an email at badge463@yahoo.com. Thank you.